Government works best in an atmosphere of transparency, which the press brings to the public, provided the press can function. Mayor Adams shouldn’t be adding restrictions to press freedom simply over a supposed breach of decorum.
Adams last week said he was banning Daily News reporter Chris Sommerfeldt from attending future press conferences at City Hall for asking a question without being called on and continuing to press the issue. Our lawyer has written to the city’s top lawyer making clear such a move has no legal standing and is not enforceable. It violates the First Amendment and the 14th Amendment.
In an era of claims of “fake news” and unsubstantiated rumors and other garbage on social media, a responsible and independent press, as guaranteed by the First Amendment, is vital to provide the public with the truth. That’s what The News is all about and what Sommerfeldt is doing in questioning and writing about Adams, on behalf of our readers in print and on the web.
This mayor, or any mayor, or any public official, from president on down, doesn’t always like what’s asked or how we ask them. The press — no less the Room 9 press corps — can be a tough bunch and have tried the patience of many a mayor. But mayors don’t get to pick and choose the journalists who will be covering them. The government can’t control the free press. That is what keeps it free.
We remain hopeful that by the time the next mayoral press briefing is held, Sommerfeldt will be welcomed along with his colleagues and competitors from their news organizations among the various correspondents assigned to City Hall.
There is a long tradition of New York mayors mixing it up with the press corps. Adams didn’t like the freewheeling method where journalists lobbing questions on anything could come at any time and any place and has limited “off topic” questions to once a week at City Hall. At these briefings, he prefers reporters raise their hands and be called on instead of them shouting out inquiries. Again, that’s Adams’ preference.
But Sommerfeldt hasn’t been called on in several months and has complained about being excluded. So when he asked a follow-up to Adams about the November election last week, the mayor chided Sommerfeldt for speaking out of turn and said he would be banned if he did so again. Sommerfeldt replied “You want to take a question from me, then?,” prompting Adams to say that he was going bar Sommerfeldt, “He did it again,” Adams said. “Make sure security knows he’s not allowed back into this room.”
The News, like the Post and the Times, as well as broadcast and online news outlets, have reporters assigned full time to cover City Hall. It doesn’t mean that every news organization is certain to get a question to the mayor every single week, but most weeks it should be the norm over the course of the briefing.
So Mr. Mayor, at your next briefing, drop the boycott and give Chris the first question.
The answers are yours, but the questions are ours.
